Filenews 18 December 2025
Panama recorded an unprecedented level of revenue thanks to its Canal transit fees, mainly due to an increase in the number of ship crossings after two years of drought reduction, the independent infrastructure management authority said on Wednesday.
Fee revenue for the Treasury amounted to $2.965 billion, it was announced during a ceremony attended by President Jose Raul Mullino, who received symbolic checks from the hands of workers at the Canal.
"I congratulate you with pride" on this result, Mr. Mulino told the workers during a visit to port infrastructure.
The sea route, more than eighty kilometers long, which uses dams with tanks and pumps fresh water, was hit hard in 2023 and 2024 by a drought that resulted in a spectacular reduction in ship crossings.
Built by the US in 1914 to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific, the Panama Canal, which is home to 5% of the world's seaborne goods, has injected more than $30 billion into the Central American nation since it came under Panamanian control in 1999.
The fees paid by merchant ships for the passage are estimated to correspond to 6% of GDP and a fifth of the current revenues of the national budget.
CNA
